HAPPIfork is the way to track how much you're eating. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

HAPIfork smart fork will teach users to slow down while eating

The Masimo iSpO2 measures carbon dioxide in a bedroom

Smarter gadgets with internet and senors expected to be launched

A SMART fork that warns foodies when they're wolfing down meals, a device that tracks suitcases in flight, and an iPhone accessory that measures the oxygen in your blood were among the smart and quirky creations revealed overnight before the world's largest gadget show opens in Las Vegas.

International CES does not officially open for two days, but a preview event revealed health and fitness gadgets as a major trend at the annual event.

Fresh health gadgets included the world's first consumer device to measure oxygen in the blood, an iPhone accessory called the Masimo iSpO2, and an internet-connected scale from Withings that not only measures a user's weight and fat content, but reveals how much carbon dioxide builds up in their bedroom as they sleep so they can open a window.

Fitness trackers were another popular new item, with Fitbug releasing a new Bluetooth-connected step counter in the Orb, and Withings revealing a tiny, 8g Smart Activity Tracker that measures steps, incline and, with the touch of a finger, a wearer's pulse rate.

But perhaps the most unusual new device came in the form of a "smart fork" called HAPIfork.

HAPPIfork is the way to track how much you're eating. Picture: Supplied

The unusual piece of cutlery, due in April, has sensors in its base that measures how fast the user is eating, as well as when and how much they're consuming.

Spokesman Philippe Monteiro Da Rocha said users could upload eating results to a smartphone and the smart fork was designed to teach users "to eat more slowly to aid digestion".

Other quirky creations included the Trackdot luggage tracker, also due in April, that can be packed in a suitcase and uses a mobile phone connection to update users on the whereabouts of their luggage.

The Trackdot device, powered by two AA batteries, turns itself off when the plane picks up speed for safety, a spokesman said, and can even alert users when it appears on the baggage carousel, connecting to its host phone by Bluetooth.

The new devices represent just a handful of the products to be unveiled at International CES this year.

Consumer Electronics Association chief economist Shawn DuBravac said consumers should brace for several new technology trends, including new, "experimental" laptop forms, smarter devices, and a series of better screens on everything from smartphones to tablets and big-screen televisions.

Mr DuBravac said Intel alone would feature more than 25 "convertible" laptops at its CES booth and many more companies were created hybrid portable computers to capture consumers' attention.

"We'll see as many as 30 to 40 hardware designs for laptops. Now none of them may stick - we may decide that the clamshell is the best way - but companies are testing these forms in a meaningful way," he said.

Mr DuBravac also predicted the rise of smarter gadgets that not only connected to the internet but used sensors to predict behaviour, including "a plethora of watches at CES that will connect and provide different contextual information" to users.

Screens of all kinds would also receive jump in resolution, Mr DuBravac said, from new tablet computers to "more than 50" new Ultra High-Definition televisions offering twice the resolution of current full high-definition sets.

More than 150,000 attendees are expected to attend International CES when it opens on Tuesday (US time).

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Comments on this story

will Posted at 2:31 PM January 07, 2013

won't work for me, i have squrriel cheeks that i shove full of food while i eat and like 3-4 minutes later finally swallow. in theory great idea but in practice won't work for everyone.

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